Stingray Scam

Alright. On January 9th I purchased a stingray from a seller on ebay who i deemed respectable. He had 20 positive bits of feedback when I bought. He responded,

Hello! Please send the payment via Express mail (it will considerably accelerate our transaction). Please also include shipping confirmation. I'll do the same (and your item will be insured for FREE). I will package very securely for shipping. Thanks. Looking forward to the tracking number from you.

... and I sent the payment ( a money order), the next day.

He hasn't responded or sent the bass since.

On the sixteenth, this popped up on his feedback page.

very bad seller, do not buy from him he will steal ur money and not respond back

I was starting to get a little worried, so I emailed him again. NO response. Finally I requested his contact information, only to find his phone number rang twice then went to "this number cannot be reached on the phone you are using". I tried it on about 6 different phones, always the same thing. I filed a poor contact information complaint, but it is still being processed.

Then yesterday, on the feedback page,

Lost trust, never shipped item, odd money request, would not do business again!

I have just filled a dispute, but it didnt seem like it would do much if ebay can't reach him. Is there any chance left for me to get the bass (i saved up for this for a while, and my other bass just died). How should I have known this was a scam? He had all positive feedback when I bought it.

Mate, I hate to say it, but those photos look like they were taken straight off the Elderly Bros site. That particular bass isn't there anymore, but here's one to give you an idea of how they photograph their instruments.

I can't look at the seller's history, because my work computer blocks ebay. How long had he been an ebay member? It's pretty easy to get 20 positive feedbacks in a short amount of time.

Paypal is your friend. It offers you more protection than using a money order or cashiers check. It always sends up red flags to me when someone doesn't accept paypal, especially on big ticket items.

File a complaint, and file a police report. If the guy is a professional scammer, then you can kiss your money goodbye. Sounds like a pro: he scammed group of people at the same time and had them expidite their payments so that it would be too late once the negative feedback started.

Here's another hint when buying high ticket items: ask the seller to send you a picture of an unusual part of the item, maybe from a wierd angle. If they do it, then it gives you some comfort that the item is actually in their possession.

I always get a little concerened when there is no rhyme or reason to what they are selling.

Look at the products that were bought and sold. Nothing is the related. A dvd, a video camera, some sort of walkie talkie, a beat counter. The guy is probably a thief and uses the ebay account to off his stolen goods.

My wifes ebay identy was stolen recently and her account was used to sell stolen GPS recievers. She was not notified untill several GPS Recievers were sold under her account. She had to change her log in and account information.

I'm not real comfortable doing business on ebay anymore.

As for you money. I'm really sorry this happened to you. I wouldn't hold your breath on ebay doing much about it though.

seller gets 20 or so good responses by buying things (note they all say 'fast payment', not 'fast delivery) then rips someone off by selling something big

For the most part its good to only pay through Paypal from first time sellers (Everyone has to start somewhere), and if mailorders or the like are requested, make sure they have a LOT of good seller feedbacks

Don't mean to preach to you after the fact. It's a damn shame that it happened, and I hope you get your money back. Good luck

I almost got stung in similar fashion trying to buy a Crown amp (that probably never existed) using a USPS Money Order. If you MUST transact using a money order or cashiers check, you MUST also send the payment REGISTERED MAIL - SIGNATURE REQUIRED. That does three things.....

Makes the "seller" have to show identification and sign for the mail. Most scammers use a P.O. box or Mail Boxes Etc. type setup or a vacant address where the mail is just dropped for their pickup. Having to show up in person and present ID poses a logistics problem.

Allows you to have the mail reversed and sent back to you if you get information leading you to believe it's a scam. This is how I got my money back.

Allows you to get reimbursed in the event that the Post Office delivers it without getting a signature.

Otherwise, as has been said over & over.....Use Paypal or only deal with those you KNOW you can trust.